Dare Me
by LitLover 101
Summary: Tragedy strikes "The Mystic Falls Dare Club" and the group must either band together or face the end of their journey. This is only made harder as Klaus, Damon and Caroline enter their early adolescence and hormones begin to rage. What will become of their club when new romances develop, friendships are challenged and trust is betrayed? Dramedy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, my lovely readers. Welcome back! We're taking a little time jump from where we left things in The Mystic Falls Dare Club. Where MFDC ended at the beginning of the summer, we're now at the end. For the ages of the MFDC clubbers check out my profile page later today. I hope you enjoy this first chapter. On with the show…**

Chapter 1: Trying Times

2019:

"Klaus, what are you doing?" my wife, Caroline, called. I looked up from the computer screen to see her coming to sit next to me on our bed. She peered over my shoulder and nodded with a serious look while her eyes sparkled. "Ah, I see back to telling the story of our childhood. So, when do the rest of us get a peek? Damon is dying to see what horrible things you've been saying about him." Biting her bottom lip, Caroline tried to keep from laughing as she looked up at me with her head on my shoulder.

Staring back at the woman who was still a girl in my story, I could still not believe my good luck that I should have eternity with the beauty by my side. "Caroline, I adore you," I told her, placing a long kiss to her lips before returning my focus to our story.

"You had better. Otherwise, I would have to wonder why it is that I wanted to keep you alive forever," Caroline murmured, snuggling into my shoulder.

I smiled contentedly. My and Caroline's story has run into more obstacles than any in our group as far as I can recall but we have made it through each to find that we love each other more than ever. This book is a story of one of the many times that we were drawn apart and of how we found each other once more.

2001:

The summer before I began middle school was a remarkable one. Caroline and I spent unlimited time together. Oddly, we were never able to share another kiss. It seemed that there was always someone there to interrupt us. Many members of our group were suffering from the loss of Damon from our ranks. In spite of Caroline's efforts to bring Damon home she was incapable of swaying Giuseppe. Of course it was Elena that was hurting the most from Damon's absence and this became one the contributing factors to my never having time alone with Caroline.

To add to my personal misery of losing my best friend and having no time alone with Caroline, my family was falling apart. Elijah had taken two after school jobs. He was tutoring for both the lower level history classes at Mystic Falls High and the middle school. In addition, he had taken a job working at the Mystic Grille as a busboy/waiter. It was rare for anyone in our group to see him except for Katherine, Rose and Andie who went to Grille regularly while Katherine attempted to gain points with Elijah. The day that I came home Finn and Sage left town and we had not seen them since. Elijah had filled out a missing person's report but we still had no word by end of summer. Kol had been traumatized by our mother's actions and had very little to say. Rebekah was another story, she had become sullen when she found out that Damon and Stefan would not be returning from the boarding school and had begun to act out. Henrik, was a happy child who did not appear to be bothered by the actions of any of us with the exception of an occasional "Where is Father?"

Today, Elijah arrived home early. It was a Sunday and he looked exhausted. "I dare you to -" I began when Elijah held up his hand warily.

"Enough, Niklaus; it is time to go," Elijah told me as he walked across the living room to get dressed. I followed my older brother across the living room and into our shared room. I felt a desire to run out the front door and hide in the house of one of my many friends. Of course that is a recourse that I had already used far too many times.

Pulling his shirt off, Elijah looked through the hamper to find a clean one or at least one that did not smell. This was a system we were adjusting to, but not well. After Father had been indicted for income tax evasion, terms I was still struggling to understand, we had stayed with the Lockwoods until Anna had had to explain that she could no longer compel Mrs. Lockwood to open her house to us. "It would look too suspicious," is how Anna had phrased it. Yet again, I felt as if my lack of experience in adult matters was working against me.

"Niklaus, are you ready?" Elijah called to me with a sober gaze.

"Yes," I replied.

"Right then," Elijah murmured with a deep frown. Straightening his tie, he looked in the mirror attached to the closet door and sighed. "Good enough," he muttered. Walking out of the room, he led me to his car. Lexi had bought it for him. Although I am not sure that "bought" is the appropriate term.

I took my seat beside my brother and stared at the windshield silently. This was the first time that I would see him since Elijah had brought me home and I was incredibly nervous.

We rode in silence until he arrived at a large intimidating structure. To be honest, the place scared me worse than my old boarding school the first time I entered it. Looking up at Elijah, I could see that he was frightened as well, but doing a good job of trying to hide it. A stranger might not even notice the way that he stuffed his hands a little too deeply in his pockets or the way that his eyes narrowed to disguise fear with anger. "Let's go," Elijah called to me.

I entered the building to see that there were others like us standing in a line. They had to offer up their property to be led into a room with a closed door and to then come out looking even more enraged before they were told they could see their loved ones.

Elijah and I were led into the room together. I felt strange about being "patted down." You see I was still a child and was not sure why this was important since my father was not in one of the jails like you see on TV but Elijah told me that it was "procedure." We were allowed to go into a large room where other families were sitting at tables, talking. Father had his back to us but I would recognize him anywhere.

"He's over there," Elijah informed me but I could not force myself to speak. Elijah was forced to place his hand on my shoulder and to guide me toward the table. Coming to stand in front of the table, Elijah offered Father a tight smile. "Hello, Father."

"Elijah. You brought Niklaus," Father replied with a smile of his own that did not reach his eyes when he looked at his eldest child.

Looking at me, Father's eyes softened. "How have you been, my boy? I see that you have grown a bit. Coming into the Mikaelson height nicely. Are you still spending time with that Salvatore boy?" Father inquired and I looked back at him.

I shook my head and swallowed with difficulty before responding to his question. "Damon is staying at the Academy for the year," I told him as politely as I could. I did not follow my remark with "And it is your fault that he is there. He would have never gone if not for you sending me. Now, I will be losing close to a year with my best friend so that I could come home."

Father did not look disappointed by my comments. "And you will be returning to school soon, without young Miss Forbes since she is too young," Father stated with his gaze pinning me to my seat and I swallowed back bile. He was correct. I would be spending a year at the middle school before Caroline would be joining me. It felt like an

eternity. The fact it that it had not occurred to me upon my arrival that we would not be joined in our school adventures was a thorn that I tried to not toy with.

"Yes," I replied with a tremor in my voice.

Father smirked at me. "There are plenty of young girls that you will meet. You will move on with time. Ask Elijah. He learned that lesson far too well for my taste." Pinning Elijah with his glare, Father leaned back and stared at him for the moment before he continued. "How is your… what would you call her, Elijah?"

"Hayley," Elijah snapped. "You're referring to Hayley, yes, Father?" I wondered why Father was interested in the topic of the girl. She did not play a large part in our lives. Yes, she lived with Caroline and, yes, she was carrying my brother's child, but she had her own life. It did not seem as if this was the time to bring up old wounds.

"Yes, the girl that you have impregnated," Father told Elijah who's eyes widened. Elijah did not seem to be aware that Father knew of the child's existence as he visibly paled.

"That is no concern of yours," Elijah said as he resumed his outwardly calm façade. "If we may then I would like to keep that subject closed during this visit."

Father smiled slowly at Elijah before nodding. "Then may we discuss Katherine Gilbert? She will not be another matter that you are unable to control, will she, boy?"

Elijah gritted his teeth. "I think that this has been a long enough visit," he snarled as he got up to leave. I got up with him. Father reached out and grabbed Elijah by the wrist. "Sit down, boy, we're not done yet."

"No touching," one of the guards called, coming toward us with quick strides. Father held up both his arms with a serene smile.

"Elijah, please, sit," Father implored.

Resuming his earlier seat, Elijah looked to me and I sat as well. "What more do you want to ask me?" Elijah inquired with a deep frown.

"Oh, I do not have a question for you," Father said with a slow smile. "I have answers for you. You see I have people who collect information for me while I take a 'rest' from my previous life. A rest that I have found that I have you to thank for, Elijah." My gaze flicked to Elijah whose eyes narrowed.

"I can assure you that you are wrong," Elijah replied.

"Oh, yes, well then my informants must have gained the wrong information," Father replied and then grinned, leaning closer to Elijah. "But they assure me that they are not. Now, where was I… Oh, yes," Father placed his elbow on the table and placed his fingers to his temple. "I have obtained information about where Miss Marshall's adoptive family resides. You see, when I called the residence they were so _very_ happy to find that Hayley is alive and well and residing in Mystic Falls. I was even kind enough to provide them with the Sheriff's home address."

"You _what_?" Elijah yelled, jumping to his feet. "_When_? When did you do this?" Elijah bellowed as he lunged across the table to grab Father by the shirt collar.

"Let go," a guard yelled at Elijah as he restrained my brother who was seething.

"You have _no_ idea what you've done," Elijah snarled as the guard escorted us out of the room. I followed them out into the hallway knowing what Elijah would do the moment that we left the jail. Whipping out his phone, Elijah began to dial a number. "Hayley, answer the bloody phone," he growled into his own phone. His face was beginning to turn red as he got into the car and slammed his door shut. "Move, Niklaus," he yelled.

"Hey, this is Hales, I can't pick up right now because my sis is driving me nuts," she began to laugh as Caroline said something unintelligible. "So, leave a message at the sound of the beep."

Elijah began to curse and dialed a different number. "Katherine, pick up the damned phone," he thundered as he drove around a corner far too quickly.

After the first three rings, Katherine answered. "Hi, Elijah. What's up?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"Are you at Caroline's party?" Elijah replied quickly. He was driving with the phone in his lap on speaker phone.

"No, I'm going later," Katherine said with a lazy yawn. "I'm just not in the partying mood. Unless you're going to be there."

"Go. Now," Elijah called into the phone and then there was a pause. "Katherine, I dare you to go to the party right now. It's very important."

"Why?" Katherine asked and Elijah looked like he was going to explode in rage.

"I dare you to not challenge me for once and just go," Elijah yelled.

Katherine sighed. "You don't have to yell and you can't just keep giving me dares unless you want to take some of mine," she called with a giggle.

"Katherine," Elijah snapped. "Just go and do not let Hayley out of your sight until I arrive."

"Hayley?" Katherine sounded offended. "Why would I do that? I mean she's my friend and all but if I hang with her too much people might start to think that we're going out. Which might gain me votes for prom queen from some of the pervy football players but I don't know how having a rumor spreading that I'm dating a pregnant chick will help. Although -"

"Kat," I yelled into the phone. "I dare you to go to the party and to stop questioning Elijah. I say that as the King of the Dare Club. Now, just do it!" I shouted into the phone. "And keep the phone on. We need to know what's going on."

"Whatever," Katherine snapped into the phone. "I'm getting in my car and putting the phone on the passenger seat. Can you still hear me?"

"Yes," we yelled into the phone.

"Okay," Katherine called back.

We waited for Katherine to get to the party. "Oh, gee, they're playing the _worst_ music! You're right, Elijah it's a good thing that you sent me." Then Katherine got quiet and there was the sound of her car door opening and slamming closed.

Then there was the sound of a door opening. "Sorry, almost forgot you guys," she giggled.

"What's going on?" Elijah demanded and I looked at him with my stomach twisting.

"Nothing," Katherine replied. "I think that Mason is drunk again. Hey," she called. "Oh, who's that?" she was quiet for moment. "There's some guy that's talking to Hayley. Oh, my God. She's got Liz' shotgun. Hayley, what are you doing with that thing? You could hurt someone. Hey, get off of me!" Katherine shouted and then we could only hear shouting.

"Get off of her!" Hayley was shouting. "I swear I am going to put one of these right between your eyes if you don't let her go."

"You want her, honey, come and get in the car like a good girl," an unfamiliar man's voice called and then Katherine screamed when a shot went off.

"That was a warning," Hayley shouted. "The next one won't be." Silence reigned again when there was the sound of a voice that made my blood run cold.

"Hayley, don't," Caroline cried. "If you kill him than you'll wish you hadn't."

"I have to, Caroline," Hayley yelled.

"No, you don't," Caroline yelled back and then there was more silence.

"My God," Elijah groaned. We were only one block away. Just one stupid block away.

"I think I'll take my chances," the man said and then there was the sound of several screams.

"Get off of her," Katherine yelled.

"You're useless to me anyway. I hate fat chicks," the man said and then laughed harshly. "Come here, darling'."

"You son of a bitch," Hayley screamed. "Kat, get the gun," she shouted and I felt my hand going to the door handle as Elijah pulled into the driveway and jumped out. My nightmares were realized when I saw the man that I recognized as Hayley's adoptive father holding Caroline to him. He was trying to force her into his truck.

"Get off of her," I screamed, launching myself toward the man as Elijah ran toward the teen girls. The man must have shoved Katherine at Hayley because the pregnant teen was getting to her feet and taking the gun away from Kat.

Then several things happened at once. Elijah was moving out of the way as Katherine knocked him to the ground. Hayley lifted the gun to eyelevel and pulled the trigger. The man shoved a protesting Caroline into his truck. I arrived beside the door and found it to be locked. And my mother appeared.

"ENOUGH," Mother boomed. Raising her hand the bullet went flying toward her and dropped to the palm of her hand. She pocketed it before waving at the door to the man's truck, Caroline jumped out and into my arms. The man went flying through the air to land on his knees before Mother. "Leave this place before I allow the girl to kill you," she snarled at the man who got to his feet and climbed into his truck.

Our group looked at Mother with a mixture of shock and relief. "Mum," I cried.

"Niklaus," she replied. "Mother's home."

**Questions? Comments? Hit the review box!**

**Let me see those favs, follows, reviews and that you're reading. Your support motivates me to get all thirty chapters up week after week so that we can finally see these kids get to high school where all hell really will break loose! **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	2. Chapter 2

**All ages and grade levels will be at the end of the chapter as well as posted on my profile page. Finally. **

**Hello, my lovely readers. There are more secrets that will be revealed in this chapter. Grab some tissues cause this part is one on the harder bits 'cause emotional pain is the theme of this chapter. However, I promise the next two chapters are lighter. On with the show…**

Chapter 2: Everybody, Stop Saying Things I Don't Want to Know

After the disaster of the party at Caroline's house, I wanted to throw a party of my own that would reunite the remaining members of our club. It would also give me an excuse to spend time with Caroline who was avoiding me. I wasn't sure why she hadn't been coming to visit me or had not been taking my calls but I was determined to find out for sure tonight. There were hand written invites sent to everyone and now I just needed to make sure that everything went as planned.

It was a Saturday. I had all day to get the house in some kind of order for a party with over fifteen kids of various ages attending. Thankfully, I had helpers. "Bekah, Kol," I yelled into my brother's and sister's room. "Wake up." Wrinkling my nose when Bekah appeared with her short locks shooting up in all directions that made her look like a) Peter Pan or b) Stefan Salvatore on a bad day, I looked away. Kol was right behind her, popping out of their room in his Ninja Turtle PJs.

"I'm going to chop you," Kol announced before kicking at the air and then slamming his hand down on my arm, causing pain to shoot through my shoulder.

"Kol!" I shouted in annoyance as Elijah appeared from the bathroom in his boxers with a toothbrush in his mouth.

Withdrawing the toothbrush, Elijah folded his arms over his bare chest. "Kol, stop it! Now!" Elijah demanded. "This is a mad house this morning," he told me as he shoved the toothbrush back into his mouth and began brushing vigorously.

"Elijah," Rose called as she appeared in the hallway and then saw our little group. "Oh," she said and gulped when she noticed Elijah in his boxers. "Oh, my! Ummm… I'm here because Klaus called me for help." Seeing me, she placed her hand to her temple and let out a nervous laugh. "There you are, Klaus. Your mom told me that you would be down here."

"Hey, Rose," I called and placed my hands on Bekah's shoulders, directing her toward the stairs. "I need help getting ready for the party." I informed the teenage girl who was shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and trying to avoid looking at Elijah. "Come on, Kol," I yelled over my shoulder. We headed down the hall and into the kitchen.

Stepping into the kitchen, we found a sight that made me feel curious. My mother was standing in an apron and cooking. "Good morning, children," she called, then turned to look at us. "Oh, good morning, Rose. I made breakfast. You're welcome to join," she said, waving a hand toward the table and my eyes widened at the food spread across the table. I had no idea that my mother could cook like that. Taking a seat, I began to fill a plate with pancakes and fruit.

"Thank you, Mum," I called in between bites. My mother walked over and kissed me on top of my head. That was something else that rarely happened.

"You're welcome, darling," Mother whispered into my ear before ruffling my hair that was growing too long with my curls hanging in my eyes. I made a note to ask Elijah to cut my hair for me. But I had too many other things to do right then.

"Mum, could you bake a cake?" I called and Mother raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"Yes, Niklaus. What's the occasion?" she inquired while placing another plate of waffles on the table as Elijah came down the hall in his Mystic Grill uniform.

"No occasion," I said with my fork waving around as I spoke. "It's just that a bunch of my friends are coming over and we never really had a party to celebrate the fifth anniversary of…" I trailed off and looked at the table top.

"Of your top secret club that no one is supposed to know about?" Mother replied and everyone became quiet as she looked at us with an amused smile. "I'm a mother. It's my job to know things. Don't worry. I promise I won't breathe a word to anyone else."

"Thanks, Mum," I said, getting up from my seat, I stood on my tip toes to press a kiss to her cheek. At eleven going on twelve I still wasn't as tall as my mother. One day I would be. Hopefully taller. Grabbing a pancake off a plate, I waved for the others to follow me as Elijah moved to leave the house.

"Be home by seven," I shouted to Elijah as he waved good-bye and was gone. I noticed that Rose was watching him go and blushed when I looked at her.

"Alright," I said while clapping my hands together. "So, we're going to have this party in the backyard and I wanted to have an area for dancing and one for music and one for food," I told them and they stared at me. "Which means that we have to clear out the backyard," I said as if it were obvious and Kol and Bekah rolled their eyes at each other. They knew that I was pointing out the fact that most of the toys outside belonged to them.

Going outside, we gathered up baseballs, stuffed animals, and other little kids' toys that we found. Some of them belonged to Henrik and I did not expect him to pick them up. At that moment, the youngest of us was at some kind of baby get together thing that Anna had taken him to so that Mother could have a couple of hours to herself. We were all still a little tentative around Mother, especially now that we had moved into a one story home that was little larger than a cottage with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one of those being in the basement which is where Elijah had moved his belongings. It seemed as if we could not turn around without running into one another.

"Okay, now we need tables," Rose pointed out. I bit my lower lip. We didn't really have extra tables, or extra anything really. That was when a horn honked and Alaric appeared with Mason.

Katherine was driving a truck with Jenna in the passenger seat and the two male members of the club sitting in the back. Kat hopped out and asked, "Did anyone say that they needed furniture for a party?" she called and I grinned and bowed to her with my hands pressed together. "You're welcome, Klaus," she said with a smirk.

Alaric and Mason unloaded tables while Kat and Jenna brought folding chairs.

"Did you happen to bring a band?" Rose inquired with a laugh.

"Yeah," Kat replied, waving her hand at herself, Rose and Jenna. "We can be the entertainment for the night."

"But I can't sing," Jenna groaned. "Please, don't make me do this!"

"I know a girl who can sing," Mason said and Kat narrowed her eyes but tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Fine. Give her a call and have her come," Kat said before returning to the truck to pull down more chairs.

"I don't think they're getting along," Jenna whispered to Alaric who rolled his eyes. "Is there anyone who gets along with Queen Kat?" I smirked at the banter. It was like old times before everything went to hell. We took about four hours setting the party up to my specifications. Jenna grumbled that the only person that was this bossy was Caroline. But she had been taking lessons from Katherine from the crib.

I was tired when seven rolled around and the rest of the group started to arrive. Bonnie was one of the first. She was wearing a dress and seemed happy as she came in with a potted rose plant for my mother. Tyler came with Matt. Ty and I started joking about no longer living together. Jeremy came with Elena and his first words of greeting were to ask me where Kol was. Hayley was the next to arrive with a large, ornate, glass cake plate that was covered. "Hey, Klaus. I brought your mother a gift for the new place," she announced with a grin.

"Thanks," I replied, taking the plate because it looked heavy and hoped that she hadn't carried it from the Forbes residence to our house which was twenty blocks away. Looking over her shoulder, I noticed the Sherriff who waved before driving away. "Where's Caroline?" I asked Hayley, whose cheeks flushed and then she turned sideways so that I could see Caroline who was standing by the curb, kicking at the dirt with an angry expression on her face.

"She's kind of like that," Hayley replied, folding her arms over her swollen middle. "Do you want to get her or should I?"

I blew out a long breath, "I'll do it," I told her. "How is the baby?" I inquired while looking at Caroline who was staring out at the darkening street still frowning.

"Good. You're going to be an uncle to a little boy," Hayley told me, rubbing the baby bump.

"Oh," I said, my attention momentarily wavering toward the bump. "Kol will be happy. He wanted the baby to be a boy. But don't tell Bekah. She was not looking forward to another boy in the family."

"Okay," Hayley told me with a giggle. "Did you want me to take the cake back?"

"No," I replied as Stefan appeared on a bike. "Hey, Stefan. Can you take this to the backyard?" I called as Stefan dropped his bike in the lawn and came to collect the cake.

"Sure," Stefan said. "Is Bekah here?" His eyes were glowing when he asked the question and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes," I told him as I walked away from the front porch to talk to Caroline who was kicking more dirt. "You know you're going make your _nice_ dress all filthy," I called to Caroline with a smirk as she turned to pin me with a glare. My eyebrows knitted together at the sight of her glare. "Did I do something _wrong_, love?" I asked Caroline, feeling my heart squeeze painfully.

"It's _not_ what you _did_, it's what you _haven't_ done," Caroline retorted with another death glare that made my heart squeeze again. "You _promised_ me that you would bring him _back_. You promised and now you're a big, fat _liar_ and I _don't_ like liars!" Caroline cried out, her eyes beginning to pool with tears and I felt my jaw tightening. How could I tell her that I was doing this for us?

"I _swear_ to you that I am trying to find a way to bring Damon home," I swore to Caroline.

"_Really_?" Caroline snapped, wiping away her tears with an angry swipe of the back of her hand. "Because from my perspective you're doing a _sorry_ job of it!" She was still yelling and I looked at my shoes, feeling my face flush. I did not want to tell her that I was afraid that I would lose her if Damon came home. I was not sure what was going on between the two of them, but I was sure that it wasn't just friendship. What I was not sure of was which side it was coming from.

"I can't _believe_ that you would do _this_ to _him_!" Caroline shouted at me. "He's your _best_ friend. That's supposed to _mean_ something. But apparently best friends are expendable to you. Is that _right_, Nik? Am I _next_? And if you think for _one_ second I would ever do that to Lena or Bonnie, you are _so_ wrong," she continued as her face turned red and her teeth became exposed as her upper lip curled backward in a growl. "I _can't_ believe that I was _ever_ friends with you. You're _not_ who I _thought_ you were, Nik. And I _want_ to go _home_."

Groaning, I rocked back on my heels and looked at the ground. "_Now_!" Caroline snapped at me with her arms crossed and her foot tapping. She was lovely even when she was angry. I wanted to just take her into my arms and hug her until she calmed down.

"Okay," I whispered, feeling defeated. "I'll take you inside and my mother can call yours to pick you up."

Caroline did not thank me as she stomped up to the front porch and I followed her inside the house. We found my mother in the kitchen with a piece of cake and a glass of milk. She was talking to Henrik who was balanced on her hip. "Nik," Henrik enthused, clapping his tiny hands together. "Me up," he requested, holding out pudgy arms to me but I shook my head.

"Sorry, Hene," I replied. "Can't right now."

"Me up," Henrik yelled, his eyes filling with tears until I gave in and took him.

"Mrs. Mikaelson, can you please call my mom and ask her to take me home?" Caroline asked my mother in her best "talking to adults' voice."

"Yes," Mother replied, giving me a curious look before picking up the phone receiver from the wall and dialing the Forbes' residence. After a moment, she looked at Caroline. "She's not there, sweetie. Why don't you go outside and say hello to your friends? I'll try your mom again in about half an hour if you still want to go home."

Caroline forced a smile and walked out of the room. "I _hate_ you," she muttered to me as I walked with her out to backyard. Watching Caroline make her way toward Elena and Bonnie, I gulped down the bile in my throat. "Henrik, my, look at how big you're getting," Jenna cooed as she made her way toward me with Alaric at her side. She took Henrik from my arms and began to dance with him on her hip.

"Hey," Alaric greeted me as he looked around. "Where's Caroline? You were talking about her all afternoon. I thought that you two would be attached at the hip." His grin slipped when he saw me scowling in Caroline's direction as she talked to Elena. "Or not."

"Not would be the right word," I told him as I strode toward a table and grabbed a glass and filled it with Coke Cola. "She bloody well hates me."

"What for?" Alaric asked and I shrugged.

"I do not have a clue, mate," I told him as I picked up a slice of pizza and then slumped into a chair.

"Girls are funny. Sometimes they love us. Sometimes they hate us. You should see Jenna when she's got her period. She's all 'Grrrr… I want to rip your head off," Alaric informed me and I wondered if Caroline could possibly be having that problem as I shoved my pizza into my mouth and then downed my drink. Unfortunately, I had been drinking all day and now I needed to pee. Badly.

Getting up, I dusted my hands off and walked away from the trash. It was my bloody party and I could leave a mess if I wanted to. Heading into the house with Alaric, because he apparently had been drinking too much as well, we headed toward the bathroom when I saw Katherine following Hayley inside.

Gritting my teeth, I held up my hand to pound on the door and demand that Katherine leave the room. If she wanted to try to kill Hayley, she would have to wait until after my niece was born. Then I heard Hayley, "Okay, what was so _urgent_ that you needed _me_ to come in here with _you_? Couldn't you tell one of your many minions?"

Kat growled in response. "The _only_ reason I came to you is that you're _not_ my friend. I don't want to talk to someone I actually like about this."

"Do you _actually_ like anyone other than _yourself_?" Hayley quipped.

"Gee, _big_ words. Are those hormones kicking in, little momma?" Kat snapped.

"_Whatever_! I'm _leaving_," Hayley said loudly and then she cried out. "Get your hand _off_ of me."

I lifted my fist to begin pounding when Kat started speaking quietly. "I don't have anyone else to talk to. You're the _only_ one that would get it _since_ you have that skeazy step-dad," Kat began when Hayley interrupted.

"_Adoptive_ dad," Hayley said quietly.

"Yeah? Okay. _Who_ cares? This is about _me_. So, I was at this party. You know, the one at the end of the summer that wasn't at _your_ house. The last last bash that didn't _involve_ people playing with _guns_." Sighing, Katherine could be heard racing through the rest of the story. "So, when I got there, there was a keg and everyone was wasted. Totally not _your_ scene. Plus, there were _cool_ people there. So, _again_, not your scene. So, this guy gives me a drink. I don't look at him because he's just some guy. _Not_ someone that I would invite to a party. I have _no_ idea what he was even doing there."

"Does this story have a _point_?" Hayley inquired with a yawn.

"_Yes_," Katherine snapped. "Now, just shut up so I can finish. So, I'm drinking and this is like _really_ good beer because I feel like I'm flying. _Literally_! Everything is _great_ and I'm _so_ happy. I love _everyone_ and I'm twirling and dancing and everything is wonderful. This is the best night ever and I want it to go on _forever_. But then my head starts swirling and the room is flying too and I have no idea what is going on when my face hits the floor. The next day I wake up and I don't have any clothes on. I have no idea what in the hell is going on and then I look up to find that I'm under the bleachers of our high school. My clothes are laying in a pile next to me. Getting up, I find I can barely stand because my body is sore all over and I'm bleeding…"

"_What_?" Hayley cries quietly.

"You know... here's the _funny_ thing. I _always_ thought that my _first_ time would be in one of those fancy hotels after prom with Elijah. Because in spite of what some people think, I'm not a _giant_ slut and Elijah and I never had sex. We just did a lot of _other_ stuff. And the _best_ part of the story is where I took a pregnancy test this morning and it was _positive_," Kat finished and then there was silence.

"What are you going to _do_? You have to _tell_ someone," Hayley whispered.

"_Why_? Because you _did_. Or so that some loser can _claim_ they're the one who _had_ Kat Gilbert under the bleachers. My life would be _over_," Kat scoffed.

"_But_… Are you going to _have_ the baby?" Hayley asked.

"Are you having _yours_?" Kat snapped.

"_Yes_," Hayley replied.

"Well, my family doesn't believe in the A word. So, yeah, I guess my life is going to go to hell anyway. Whatever! The point is that I needed to talk to someone. Okay? Now, I shared and I'm _out_ of here. One last thing, if you tell anyone I told you this I will _kill_ you in your sleep," Kat added. Before Alaric and I could walk away, Katherine walked out of the bathroom and glared at us. "What are you two skulking around for?" Kat demanded.

"I needed to pee," I told her as Hayley came out of the bathroom.

"Whatever," Kat said.

I really wished I hadn't heard any of that as I walked into the bathroom and tried to pee without any success. Why couldn't everyone keep their problems to themselves? And why wasn't Damon here to help me laugh it all off?

**Okay. All ages are approximate i.e. sometime in the year they will be such and such an age. **

**Elijah, Kat, Hayley, Jenna, Andie, Rose: 16.**

**Finn, Alaric, Mason: 15.**

**Sage: 14.**

**Klaus, Damon, Marcel and Enzo: 11.**

**Caroline, Elena, Bonnie, Stefan, Matt, Tyler: 9.**

**Kol: 8.**

**Jer and Bekah: 7.**

**Henrik: 3. **

**Aiden: (TO character who is now Hayley and Elijah's child in this story. Go with it!): not born yet. **

**Kat's yet to be named baby: not born yet. **

**Hit the review box to let me know what you think of the newest bombshells because they're just going to keep coming with each new chapter! **

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews, favs, follows and for reading! **

**Answers to reviews:**

**Red08: Thank you for reviewing. **

**Prettylittlewitch: Thank you for reviewing. **

**Gams2000: Esther is badass. I kind of love her even when I want to scream at the crazy things she does to her babies (more on the show than in this books, but sometimes in the books, too…) From Klaus' point of view, Mikael is over the top. There might be a point that Mikael come to regret his actions in chapter one of this book but we'll have to wait and see. Thank you. **

**Ferrylis: Thank you! I'm happy that you're still enjoying the story 'cause I think it could go on for some time. Yes, I love cute and cuddly Klaroline although they're entering a rough patch that will go on through a looonnnnng period in this story which is painful to write a major Klaroshipper. :/**

**Guest: ?**

**Melissa: Thank you so much Melissa. I hope you enjoy the ride, I'm going for the major rollercoaster effect this time. **

**ObsessWithElijah: Esther's appearance was one of the most awesome plot twists that my twisty brain could conjure up. Yes, Mikael is trying to stay in control of things outside of his new home for the time. He's kind of a villain in Klaus' eyes for this part of the story which is an interesting change from when he was little and worshipped his dad. Of course Klaus' attitude toward his dad in consistent with how he thought of him after Mikael sent him away. **

** .girl: Thank you for reviewing. **

**Tippy093: Thank you. Nope. Klaus is not going to meet someone new. There might be something between him and someone that he already knows. Maybe. I have yet to get there. (In case anyone else is reading this note: I can say it will not be Hayley. Never, ever Hayley. Friends? Yes! Romantic potential. Zero! And I'm only saying that because there's a total friends bonding moment with Klaus and Hayley in the next chapter where they do something special for Kat.) **

**I'm glad you asked about the what will happen with Hayley and Elijah's baby, Aiden who borrowed from TO season 2. I LOVE his character. Anyway, I don't really know. I do know that it will depend on whether Hayley and/or Elijah go to college and which one will the custodial parent. We'll know for sure by the end of the story because this the big send off for Elijah, Kat, Hayley, Jenna, Rose and Andie who will be graduating from college at the end and I have no idea where they're going. **

**I'm so slow on the age thing. :/**

**LoonyTunes: Yes, Esther is not evil. Depressed, yes. Evil, not so much in this story. **

**Mikael can be an ass, yes. Not always but he has one hell of a temper. **

**Thank you! **

**CB4389: Yes, this story starts out cooking with fire and doesn't really slow down because the bombshells just keep going off over and over again. The shock factor and sometimes how brutal the shocks are would be the number one reason that this story is under the drama listing. We've still got comedy but there's some hard bits that are moving us closer and closer to adulthood. Ugh. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my lovely readers. It's back with some drama but also some light hearted moments that I hope you enjoy. On with the show…**

Chapter 3: Miss Mystic Falls

Weekends were the hardest days after Caroline told me that she did not want me in her life. Of course since she was one of the leaders of the Dare Club, she could not completely rid herself of me. However, she could make it quite clear that she did not relish my presence. Our fighting made it harder on the rest of the members, which is why everyone was happier when we had an excuse to gather without Caroline and me making too much contact.

That is why everyone was excited about the Miss Mystic Falls competition. And none was more excited that Miss Katherine Gilbert who had been rehearsing for this moment for a year. Rose, Jenna and Andie were excited to go because they were going to dress up and dance with their dates. I had been gagging all morning as everyone ran around the house getting dressed.

I had no idea why I was supposed to go. I wasn't even old enough to be one of the escorts. Kol was even less excited by the thought and had Elijah shave his head in protest. Bekah, on the other hand, was thrilled. She had been practicing dancing with Elijah in spite of the fact that I told her numerous times that we were not a Founding Family and she would never have a hope of winning.

This morning Elijah came upstairs looking handsome in a tux and Bekah giggled, clapping her hands. "You're the _most_ handsome escort that any of the girls could wish for," Bekah enthused as Elijah grinned at her and offered his arm. Mother appeared in a ball gown that she had not sold that caused all of us to gasp in wonder. I had almost forgotten that my Mother was a stunning creature. "You look _beautiful_, Mother," Bekah cried with a wide smile. I nodded my head. Henrik came running up behind Mother in a mini tux and we all laughed as he pulled at his tie.

"We must be off, otherwise we will be late," Mother informed us as she gathered Henrik up and ushered Kol out the front door. He was pouting as we left the house and headed toward the car. Elijah got behind the wheel with Mother in a passenger seat and the rest of us piling into the back. We elbowed each other all the way to the Lockwood's.

We exited the car and walked up to the front door in relative peace, except for Kol, who upon seeing Jeremy and Bonnie, screamed their names as if they could not hear him. They were a mere ten feet away. I rolled my eyes and then spotted a young girl in ice blue and my heart stopped as she turned. Caroline. She had dyed her hair a flaming, red color and even though I would never have changed her golden mane, it did not detract from her beauty. Sighing, I made my way toward her to be cut off by Tyler. "I can't believe we're stuck in these monkey suits _again_."

"I know," I grumbled as Caroline linked arms with Elena who had curled her hair and was wearing a long purple dress. My eyes stayed on the girls as Tyler talked.

"Mason's escorting Kat because she's blackmailing him with some kind of photos. But I think he might ditch her anyway. She's been pretty mean to him lately and he said he was sick of her drama," Tyler was saying and I nodded, not really caring what Tyler was talking about as Caroline moved toward Bekah and Stefan. That might be my golden opportunity to talk to her. Moving toward the group, I found myself being blocked by Alaric.

"Hey, have you _seen_ Jenna? She said she's getting Kat's dress and I haven't been able to find her," Alaric said with a frown.

"Haven't _you_ seen her," I replied as Caroline moved from the group she had been talking to towards Tyler's mother. Ugh. I could not stand the woman. And there was the Sheriff, looking pretty in a long, black gown. Caroline smiled at her mother as the woman made her way to her daughter's side.

"I look like a _freakin'_ blimp," Hayley complained as she appeared in a pink dress. "And _why_ did I agree to wear this thing?"

"Because you give into _all_ of Caroline's whims," Elijah replied as he placed a hand on her back and I turned to find them behind me. Elijah had agreed to be Hayley's escort because she was horrified that Caroline had entered her name into the Miss Mystic competition as Marshall-Forbes. "It will be over _soon_."

"Says you. You don't have to wear a pair of freakin' heels and have people wondering if you'll pop the baby out on the staircase. Or _better_ yet during their _archaic_ dancing ritual," Hayley snapped. Her hormones were certainly making her a thrill to be around lately.

Matt popped out of nowhere with a stressed looking Jenna. "I can't find the dress," Jenna exclaimed. "Kat is going to _kill_ me."

"Who cares?" Mason said as he appeared. "She can come down naked. Maybe then she'll win."

"That is really _rude_," Hayley yelled at him. Everyone became silent and Elijah looked confused. "For God's sake, this is like her _thing_. Show some _respect_."

"_Okay_," Jenna said, shaking her head. "I must be in an episode of the _Twilight_ _Zone_ or something."

"I found it," Andie yelled as she came running toward our group with Rose by her side. They headed toward the staircase with Caroline and Jenna in tow. Hayley followed them, and I followed her up.

"Oh, God," Katherine was moaning from the direction of a guest bedroom. "I'm going to be sick," she said with her hand over her mouth. She was wearing a pair of black yoga pants and tank top. Kat had to be fashionable, even if she was in crisis mode. "_Oh_," she moaned.

"I found your dress," Andie exclaimed, holding up the garment bag with a cheerful smile.

Katherine looked up through hooded eyes. "I don't care. Didn't you _hear_ me? I'm _sick_," she hissed as she got up and ran toward the bathroom.

"Its nerves," Rose said as she followed Kat into the bathroom who was retching violently. "Just calm down, and you'll be fine."

"Maybe she needs something to eat," Caroline suggested, moving toward the door and leaving the room. She came back several minutes later with a snack. Katherine came back into the room, took one look at the snack and rushed back to the toilet.

Hayley walked inside the bathroom and pulled Katherine's hair back. "_Close_ the door," she ordered Caroline who frowned but did as she was ordered.

"Well, if they kill each other then we won't have to worry about Kat freaking out if she doesn't win," Jenna said as she looked at her friends who nodded.

"They're not going to kill each other," Caroline snapped with her arms folded over her chest.

"You're _right_ about that, love," I said smoothly and Caroline looked at me with a snide expression but did not reply when the door opened and the teen girls came out. Katherine looked sober as she walked over and grabbed her bag that had been laid on the bed. "Hayley, _help_ me," she demanded before returning to the bathroom.

I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling and counted to one thousand before the girls reappeared with Katherine is a blood red dress that looked like a princess would wear. I had to admit that she looked elegant and from the smirk on her face, she knew she looked radiant. "Are we going or not?" Kat questioned us with a grin. "Because it would be a shame if the _winner_ didn't make an appearance."

"Arrogant much," Hayley said loudly and Katherine smiled as she gathered her skirts.

"_Very_," Kat said we made our way toward the staircase and I walked to the side to watch the escorts gathering. But I didn't see Mason. Hurrying back up the stairs before anyone could move, I started toward Kat but from the sour look on her face, I could tell she knew. "He took _off_. Didn't he?" I nodded. "That's _typical_," she muttered with a shake of her head.

"Klaus," Hayley called and waved her hand toward me. Whispering in my ear quickly, she all but shoved me back toward the staircase.

Hurrying back down, I found Elijah who was adjusting his bow tie. "Lijah, there's been a _change_ of plans." Elijah looked confused as I explained the new plan. Without a word, he moved back toward the line of escorts.

I stood back and watched as Jenna, Rose and Andie were escorted and then Hayley came to stand at the head of the staircase. "Miss Hayley Marshall-Forbes, who is being escorted by Mr. Elijah Mikaelson," Carol Lockwood announced and there was brief pause when I stepped forward with my arm extended and a smirk on my face as Hayley placed one hand to her middle and carefully walked downstairs.

Carol let out a nervous chuckle as we passed to walk outside to the lawn. I could hear her calling "Miss Katherine Gilbert, escorted by Mr. Mason Lockwood," she called and I looked behind me to see Elijah waiting for a beaming Kat. Looking inside and around the room, I saw Caroline biting her lower lip with a furrowed brow.

The process of deciding the winner bored me and I half slept through it until Kat let out a triumphant cheer while the dishonorable Mayor slipped the sash over her head. Soon we were all making our way to the dance floor with those we had escorted.

Stepping onto the dance floor, I heard people chuckling about the kid and the pregnant girl. "I think they think we're funny," I told Hayley who looked around with a smirk.

"Screw them," she said as she held up her hands and we moved through the dance that really was absurd. My eyes swept the floor to see that Kat looked like she was going to start laughing as she and Elijah danced together. "Looks like I made the right choice for _once_," Hayley said wistfully, watching the other couple.

"Don't worry, you'll find _him_," I told her and she chuckled.

"_Yeah_, I'm sure. I'm going to go steal Jenna's man for a dance so that you can go force Caroline to dance with you. Just remind her that she doesn't have to _touch_ you or _talk_ to you," Hayley whispered to me with a wink as she walked away.

I sucked in a deep breath and approached Caroline who was dancing with Matt. "May I cut in?" I asked, looking at Matt, who shrugged and then moved on to dance with Elena. Caroline stood with her back rigid and refused to make contact with me as she held up her hands and moved through the steps. I knew that one of these days she would break and speak to me again.

Caroline and I danced together three times before she found an excuse to dance with Tyler, just to get away from me. "Its progress," Hayley said as she came to stand beside me. "Why don't you dance with your mother? She looks lonely." Looking for my mother, I found that she had been standing off to the side with a glass of barely touched champagne, looking forlorn.

Coming to stand before Mother, I took a bow. "Mrs. Mikaelson, would you do me the _honor_ of dancing with me?" I inquired with a grin as my mother began to laugh. Placing my arm around her waist, we began to waltz around the floor and her cheeks began to glow. "Have you had much practice dancing? You're rather light on your feet," I teased and Mother smiled down at me.

"Oh, I _used_ to be a dancer. _Long_ ago," Mother informed me and I could only stare at her in shock. She had never told me that before. "I was a ballerina. Then I found out when I was sixteen that I was a witch. After I accidently cursed a girl who was a competitor, I could never take the stage again. It was too painful to know that my success came at the suffering of another."

"What happened to the _other_ girl?" I asked my mother whose expression darkened.

"She committed suicide. I had driven her mad and she hung herself, Niklaus. That is why you must be _careful_ of the magic that you use. _Always_!" Mother cautioned me with a stern look.

"_What_ magic?" I replied with a light laugh. "That's Bekah's thing. Not mine."

Mother shook her head. "Niklaus, you are my child. That means that you, _too_, carry my power with you."

"What does that _mean_, Mother?" I asked, feeling my stomach flip flop.

"It means that you use _caution_ when you use your powers," Mother told me gently. "Now, why don't you dance with the little Gilbert girl? She seems depressed since your friend, Damon, left."

Sighing, I made my way toward Elena. To be honest I had been avoiding Elena since I had come home from the boarding school for fear that she would blame me, like Caroline did, for Damon's not coming home. "Elena, would you like to dance?" I asked her and she nodded, taking my hand. Looking around the dance floor, I took note that Elijah and Kat were still dancing together. Jenna and Alaric had been reunited. Bonnie was dancing with Jeremy. Tyler was dancing with Bekah. Kol was dancing with Hayley, which was a comical sight since they seemed to be engaged in a game where each was trying to step on the other's toes. Caroline was dancing with Matt. Caroline. Damn it.

"Have you heard from Damon?" Elena asked me and I looked down at her.

Shaking my head, I replied. "No, I haven't heard from him." I did not add that I had not tried to contact him either. Some part of me believed that it would be easier to simply not contact him so that it would not feel like I was not betraying him in some way.

"He hasn't tried to contact me either. Don't you think that that's _weird_?" Elena questioned me. "He went _all_ the way to that _stupid_ boarding school so that you two wouldn't be separated and then… _nothing_. That's _really_ weird. You don't think that someone did _something_ to him, do you? Because I think that maybe we should go to see him. Just to make sure that he's okay. And then if he is, then I'm going to be so pissed."

I shook my head. "I think that we should _wait_ for him to contact us. Like you said, Damon wouldn't just not contact us unless he had a _good_ reason," I reassured Elena who was scowling.

"You sound like Kat. She says that there are _tons_ of boys and that I should just move on. She told me that I should date _Stefan_ and that would make Damon contact me real fast. But _look_ at her," Elena nodded in Kat's direction who was laughing at something that Elijah had said. "Does she _look_ like she is moving on? I think that she _should_ take her _own_ advice or stop telling _me_ what to do with my life."

I pursed my lips and then looked at Caroline and Matt. "Perhaps Kat is right. You should move on. You know that Matt has always had a crush on you. He's a nice boy. Maybe you should give him a chance. See what happens," I continued, feeling myself bristle when Caroline began to giggle as Matt twirled her. "Like _now_. I would say _jump_ right in there. I dare you to," I said quickly as I pulled Elena by the hand toward Matt and Caroline. "Matt, dance with Elena," I ordered, practically throwing Elena into Matt's arms.

"Caroline, I _dare_ you to dance with me," I said, holding out my hand.

"_Pass_," Caroline replied with a smirk. "To…" Her eyes traveled the dance floor before she settled on Kat. "She's been hogging one of the best dancers all night. Hey, Kat," Caroline called with her hands on her hips and Katherine turned to look down at Caroline. "I'm passing my dance dare to you. Hope you don't mind since you passed you're dying your hair one to me last week."

Kat did not look happy as she came over and took my hand. I frowned when, instead of dancing with Elijah, Caroline took up with Tyler again. Damn. Rose then approached Elijah tentatively and they began to dance.

"_What_'s going on with you and Care Bear?" Kat asked me as I looked at Caroline who was twirling Tyler and they seemed to be having a great time together. "It looks like you're being replaced, Mini _Tyrant_."

"I'm not a mini anything," I snapped at Kat who wrinkled her nose.

"Gee, someone's up past their bed time. So sorry. _Maybe_ you should go home and go to bed," Kat informed me as I glared up at her. "_What_ is your problem, Klaus?"

"I _don't_ have a problem," I told her. "I just didn't want to dance with _you_." I was very angry as I scowled up at Kat. But when her eyes filled with tears I had no idea what to do when she jerked away and ran off the dance floor.

"What did you _do_?" Caroline shouted at me and then took off after Kat. I felt like screaming as I stormed off the dance floor and jerked my bow tie off.

I walked away from the party and down the driveway. I just kept walking, although it was dark out and it made my skin begin to crawl as I thought of all the things that would go bump in the night.

"What are you doing out _here_ by yourself?" A voice demanded and I screamed and moved to turn when Anna appeared before me with her hands on her hips. "You're _supposed_ to be at that Miss Mystic thing. Aren't you?" she asked me and I shook my head.

"The dance was _stupid_," I told her, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Yeah, that's what _Damon_ would have said if he were here," Anna told me and I stared at the sidewalk. "Klaus, do you want to tell me why Damon isn't here? Because you _know_ that it would be like snapping your fingers to ask me to compel Damon's father to bring him back."

I nodded, feeling my lower lip wobbling. "I know," I told her as I stared at my feet. "But I can't."

"_Why_?" Anna asked me.

"Because they like each other _more_ than they like me," I whispered, my throat contracting painfully.

"The _only_ way you're going to know for sure if Caroline loves you is to let her go. If she _wants_ to be with you, she will be," Anna advised me.

"I _can't_ risk it," I told her. "Now, I need to _go_," I said and walked around her. I could hear her footsteps following me as I walked toward the house and then found the old ladder. Pushing it against the building, I climbed the steps and pulled the window that never seemed to be completely shut, open. Entering the room, I walked over to the bed that was much larger than was necessary and laid down.

Pressing my head into the pillow, I allowed myself to cry as I looked at the picture that Damon kept on his beside of us the first year we had met. We were six then and his twelfth birthday would be coming up. I wondered what he would want me to get him. After all I did love birthdays. Maybe I would pay him a visit for the occasion, I had thought as I went to sleep in my best friend's bed.

**Hit the fav, follow, and review box with your comments and questions like there is no tomorrow! **

**And as always, thank you for reading 'cause there is no point in writing for an audience of 0! **

**Answers to reviews: **

**Cchavi: That whole plot was a shock. I have no idea what will happen after the baby is born because I haven't finished chapter 6. And, yes, I can name Kat's baby Nadia. **

**Guest: Thank you for pointing out my mistake. That is one of the only places where I made a change in the script because I had originally thought a different character would be the child and I forgot to correct the gender. The change has been made if you want to check the chapter. No, I don't think Elijah and Hayley will have more children. **

**ferrylis: I know. It's not easy to follow this plot bunny because my Klaroline feelings are going smush. I think that Mikael will turn out to be Klaus' father in this story but I'm not a 100% sure about that. That would mean that all his siblings were wolves which could be interesting. We'll have to see where the plot bunny wants to jump. **

**Nope. Caroline will be not dating Tyler. At least not in this story. Or at least not that that I know of. She likes someone else… And since they're so young they're not really dating so much as hanging out, trying to figure stuff out and maybe there's kissing. That's about as far as Care is going in this story. **

**Salazarjasam: Elijah and Hayley are very good friends and they're trying to live with this adult decision that they made by creating a child. They love and respect each other as people but they've come to realize that they're not ready for a committed relationship. Kat is trying to be friends with Elijah because she still loves him. Oddly, she's also forming a friendship with Hayley who wants Elijah to be happy. So, all three of these kids are trying to figure their lives out, separately, in order to decide who they are and who they want to be. Or the short version would be they're all friends. Odd, right? **

**Alexis2106: Sometimes people can become far too paranoid, and sometimes your instincts are right. In Klaus' case, it's a little bit of both, as you'll see soon. **

**As to whether or not Kat will loose the baby, you would be wrong. This, like the Hayley plot bunny back in MFDC, was not a fav of mine. Yes, it is unfair that Kat will be forced to have a child that she did not create of her free will. An alternate plot in which Kat had an abortion ran through my mind. However, that plot did not ring true to the character. If Kat lost the baby it would not change the fact that she was assaulted. She's already in denial. It is not fair what happened to her in this story. It is never fair when someone is hurt, but the important part is learning how to survive and to endure and that it what Kat does. One of the most important aspects of Kat's character is that she is a survivor. This does not mean that she had to go through this alone which is why she reaches out to Hayley even though she doesn't understand that she's asking for help. So we have some oh, so human vulnerability with this character that makes her so very complex in this story. **

**I miss Damon. He's a fav of mine which you know, so you know that it will not be forever before we see him again… I would say that he will appear in, oh, I don't know, chapter four… **** I would not watch TVD without Damon. Just no! **

**Thank you! I think they could do so much more with Esther but they seem to just bring her in to show how badly she can parent her kids. Then, poof, and the big, bad witch is gone. So, I wanted to give her a meatier storyline in MFDC and "Dare Me." It's not a happy storyline and it will probably end in tragedy but at least I'm giving her more material to work with. **

**CB4389: Kat is a pile of denial. She is not truly letting what happened to her register. She's having one of those "No, that happened to someone else, because that's not me. I'm not a victim." And she isn't. She, like Hayley, is a survivor but until she accepts what happened she cannot begin to heal from the experience. **

**It does seem a bit absurd to have two pregnant teens in the same story but if you think about the fact that these are two girls in an entire town, it happens. **

**Another reader brought up the idea of Kat losing the baby… I'm going to have to say, "No," to this particular request. I do try to fulfill most requests, but this is just one that I cannot because it does not follow the plot bunny. You'll just have to trust me when I say that Kat having the child will be just as interesting…**

**Caroline is behaving like Klaus did not that long ago with Elijah. She believes that Klaus can find a way to fix things, and when he fails she is disappointed in him. It's not logical, but she's 9. Who is logical at that age? Well, someone probably is, but I have yet to meet them. **

**Care is harboring feelings for Damon which is complicating how she treats Klaus because she's feeling guilty. **

**Couples: Sage and Finn (who are MIA). Jenna and Alaric. Other than that everyone is pretty much fair game. Unless you count one that will come out in chapter four. **

**prettylittlewitch: No, Kat does not know who the father is and that might become a mystery that will never be solved. I have yet to find out. **

**Mystic Rosewood Falls: I would love to do that but I have another half-planned out plot bunny that I'm chasing down for Josh. Trust me, it will be great or it will suck. Hopefully, it's the former. **

**Alwaysuniqueanchor: Yes, Nadia can be the baby. That's actually what the plot bunny wanted, too. We will have to wait and see on the "Mama Kat" plot because she's going to have a lot of thinking to do about what she wants out of her life like college and what she thinks of this whole being a mom thing in general. **

**Melissa: There will be more Klaroline moments, but they will be more friend moments as we move farther along because these two crazy kids have some stuff to deal with; like growing up a bit. Damon will be on his way in the next chapter for a visit. They do have a lovely friendship that will be severely challenged over the course of the story. **

**ObsessedWithElijah: That was a shocker but they did have sex, just not procreative sex. Just a little clarification. Elijah and Kat have a child in the future which might have been adopted depending on when Elijah becomes a vampire. Elijah probably will adopt Nadia at some point in the story. No. Elijah will have one wife, Katherine; otherwise Mikael would not be the only person in the family going to jail. **

**tippy093: It was. Elijah's already dealing with a bit of drama and I'm not sure when he will find out what happened to Kat because she's trying to keep this to herself. The fact that she told anyone took a lot of courage. He will certainly not be happy and will probably try to help find the culprit. Whether that will happen… again, I'm not sure. **

**Kat and Elijah did not "go all the way" but that does not mean that they did not have sex. There are a lot of young people who are not educated on sexual activity so they think that oral sex doesn't really count. When Kat says that she and Elijah didn't have sex, she means that they did not have procreative sex and they got lucky because there are certain things… Anyway, I'm sure you get the picture. **

**As for it appearing that Elijah had sex with Hayley because she "put out…" I had to think for a long time about why it was that they had sex. Why did the plot bunny flop in that direction? Yes, Hayley was willing to have sex when Kat was not. On the other hand, Elijah would have waited for Kat until she was eighty. However, they broke up but we didn't know this until after Hayley and Elijah had sex because Klaus had other things on his mind. We didn't see all the times that Elijah hesitated to talk to Kat because he did not want to burden her with his problems with trying to take care of his mother who was falling apart. We don't see the times that Kat called or came over and Elijah was busy so she went out with another boy. We don't see all the little things that piled up until they couldn't take it anymore and needed to stop. And we don't see Elijah letting Hayley in. We don't read their letters to each other. So we're not privy to how Elijah began to see Hayley as more than just a good friend. What we see is that they had sex and that it looks like Hayley was willing to do what Kat was not. That is the burden of writing from one character's perspective because other stories/views get lost in the mix. **

**It's hard to write about Klaroline having a rough patch that they will have to work through especially with the status of "Klaroline" being in question. **

**There will not be too much with Klaus and whoever else because they're still a bit young for an actual fling…**

**Motherly Esther is awesome to write about. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, my lovely readers. I know that Halloween was a while back but I think I wrote this chapter around then which should tell you how behind I am, having not finished chapter 6… **** On with the show…**

Chapter 4: Its Halloween, Baby

This year Kat had an idea where all of us go to her parents' cabin to plan out our Halloween night. What she didn't count on was how long it would take for all of the members of the club to get to the cabin or the storm, or the uninvited visitors or, well, you'll find out. But let's just say that this was a _true_ Halloween night to remember for every member of our little club.

"I _can't_ believe that we're at a cabin in the woods," Hayley said as she walked inside. "Isn't this how like _every_ Halloween movie starts?" she asked, looking suspiciously into the corners of the room while rubbing the kicking baby.

"Probably," Katherine said as she came in behind the other girl carrying a blanket that she laid on the floor and sat down on while the Hayley took the couch. I was leaned against a wall, watching Caroline carrying in a basket with some kind of goodies for us. She refused to take any help until Tyler offered and then she was all smiles. It made me want to puke. Maybe I should have Tyler sent to the boarding school with Damon.

I wondered if there was a spell in my mother's book for something like that. Since I have found out that I was some sort of warlock I had begun to practice in secret. Nothing special, just some minor levitating objects and turning the neighbor's cat green. Child's play, really. Bekah, on the other hand, had been spending more time with Mother and Bonnie's grandmother, learning ancient spells and I felt annoyed that a mere babe was learning what I was not allowed to. I wondered why my mother trusted her and not me.

"Klaus, are you going to stand there and sulk, or are you going to _help_ with the planning?" Katherine snapped at me with a furrowed eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and came to sit beside her. Taking a glance at her middle, I did not believe that she was really pregnant. She looked pretty flat around the middle to me and it was October. But, then again, she was wearing a loose, long sleeved shirt, so I couldn't tell for sure. "Okay, so I was thinking that we start on Damon's side of town and then make our way to the other side. Maybe we could split into teams to make sure that we collect as much chocolate as possible."

"I can't eat chocolate," Hayley pointed out and Katherine rolled her eyes.

"No one _cares_, Pumpkin Girl," Kat snapped and Hayley pouted, looking down at her Pumpkin costume.

"Who's going to go with _who_?" Caroline asked. "Because I'm _not_ going with _him_," she told everyone, pointing a finger at me.

"Why don't you stop being a brat, Caroline?" Alaric questioned Caroline with his arms folded over his chest. "Everyone misses Damon. It's not _all_ about you. You certainly did take great notes on how to be self-centered from Kat, didn't ya?" Caroline's jaw dropped and Jenna looked horrified when she grabbed one of the candy apples that Caroline had brought with her and jammed it into Alaric's mouth.

"You're _mean_," Caroline muttered as she stood between Tyler and Elena who looked equally shocked.

"We can be in a team," Jeremy called out as he slung his arms around Kol and Bonnie. "And Bekah and Stefan, too," he added as Bekah glared at him and then grinned.

"And who shall I be _tricking_ with?" Rose asked and I noticed her looking at Elijah. 'What was _that_?' I wondered with a shake of my head.

"Third wheel with Jen and Ric the Pri-," Kat started to say when Andie jumped in.

"Does that mean that I'm stuck with Klaus?" Andie asked and I raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm complaining. It's just that," she was interrupted by the sound of thunder and I got up to look out the window. Sure enough, it was pouring outside.

"No way," Matt cried out as he stepped away from Elena's side to join me at the window. "It can't rain on Halloween."

"Shit," Kat said as she pushed herself to her feet and came to stand beside us. "This is a _disaster_."

"It was your idea to come here," Elijah stated with a heavy sigh.

Kat whirled on her heel to glare at him. "And what is that _supposed_ to mean?"

"It means that no one other than _you_ said that we should go to some _stupid_ cabin in the middle of the woods so that we would be stuck here until _tomorrow_," Elijah replied evenly.

"Why don't you two just get a _room_?" Hayley snapped and then burst into tears. "You _never_ liked me," she sobbed and then looked at her middle. "And now look at what you _did_ to me!" She wailed when the lights went out and everyone screamed.

"Enough!" Elijah shouted. "I'll go find the circuit breaker. Rose, could you please help me."

"Not a problem," Rose said and I could hear them leaving.

"Does _anyone_ know where the candles are?" Bonnie asked.

"Speak up," Kat yelled and Bonnie growled.

"Where are the _damned_ candles?" Bonnie shouted and Kat chuckled.

"Now that is _more_ like it," Kat said and I rolled my eyes.

"They're here," Caroline said and I could swear that she was right next to me but when the Bonnie and Bekah began to light them I found that Stefan was standing next to mr with a gleam in his eye.

"It's _your_ fault," Stefan hissed into my ear. "I know what you _did_ to my brother. He's _never_ coming back and you'll be _punished_."

My jaw dropped open as Stefan moved to stand closer to Bekah and Kol. I started to move closer to him when Elena screamed and bent over. "Ow," she cried out.

"What?" Everyone cried.

"Something _bit_ me," Elena cried, placing her hand to her neck, she pulled it away to show that her hand was bloody.

"Oh, my God," Hayley cried out.

Kat rolled her eyes. "She must have run into _something_. Don't get that bent out shape about it."

"It's _not_ that," Hayley shouted. "My water just broke."

"_Great_," Alaric said as he pulled out a flask and began to drink and then passed it to Jenna.

"I'll go find Elijah," I told everyone and it was as if I hadn't even spoken because no one was paying attention to me.

I hurried down the hall to find Elijah. He was not trying to fix the fuse box but making out with Rose. "Lij," I cried out. "The baby is _coming_."

"And?" Elijah replied, turning to me, he rolled his eyes. "It's probably _not_ even my mine. Hayley's baby isn't mine. Katherine's baby isn't mine," he said in a bored tone as he turned back to Rose. I had no idea how Elijah knew about Katherine's possible pregnancy, but that wasn't the point right now.

"Elijah," I growled, not having the patience for whatever mental breakdown he was having at the moment.

"No," Elijah replied. "I haven't had sex in six months. You do't expect me to be a saint, do you?"

"Stop _that_," I snapped when Elijah started to kiss Rose again when Hayley let out a blood curdling scream.

"_Elijah_," Katherine howled and Elijah gave Rose an apologetic look.

"Wait for me," my brother called as he walked out of the room.

"I _always_ do," Rose called while licking her lips and then grinning at me.

Blinking at the girl who was not acting like the Rose I knew, I turned when I heard a familiar voice yelling my name. "Do you _hear_ that?" I asked Rose who nodded and pointed toward the backdoor of the cabin.

I walked to the door and opened it. Hesitating in the doorway as rain poured inside I heard the voice again. "Nik," the voice shouted. "Nik, _help_ me. _Please_! They're going to _kill_ me out here," the voice called and I dove into the pouring rain. Running toward the wooded area, I looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from and then I saw him. He was lying on the ground with blood on his shirt. "Help me, Nik," Damon cried miserably as I ran toward him.

"_Damon_!" I shouted. It seemed impossible that he had come here tonight but Damon did love Halloween. "I'm coming," I yelled into the rain but I could tell he couldn't hear me.

"Nik, _where_ are you?" Damon cried and I hurried to his side. He looked up at me and started to laugh. "Sorry, mate. It's _too_ late. I'm already _dead_. One of the older boys gave me a shove down the stairs and this time I broke my neck. And. It's. All. Your. Fault," Damon said as he got to his feet and I took a step backwards only to find myself falling on my butt. Damon stood over me and grinned. "Don't worry about Caroline. I'll take _good_ care of her."

"NO!" I howled as Damon walked away and I could no longer tell where he had gone.

"Hello, Klaus," Vikki Donavon called as she appeared from the trees two feet from me. "Did you _miss_ me? Oh, wait, I forgot, when I disappeared _no_ one even noticed. I was just _gone_ and no one _cared_." Coming to lean over me, Vikki grinned. "But I don't care because my new life is so _much_ cooler. Don't you want to join _my_ club, Klaus, I'm sure I can make it worth your while." She started to lean down to press her mouth to my neck when I screamed and shoved her away.

"Go away," I screamed and got to my feet.

Running toward the house, I was confronted with a crying Caroline. "Nik, she killed them. She killed them _all_," she wailed.

"_Who_?" I asked.

"The baby. There was something _wrong_ with it. I don't know, it was just wrong," Caroline told me while yanking me back towards the trees. "We have to _go_, Nik. Come with me. Please!"

I looked back toward the cabin and then toward the vampire that was wearing Vikki's face. "We can't go that way," I told Caroline and turned to find that Caroline looked irritated.

"Stupid boy, you don't get a choice," Caroline hissed in a deeper voice than her own. "You're going to _join_ the club."

"No!" I yelled.

"Join us," Damon called as he appeared from the trees and I ran back toward the house and entered to find everyone dead and blood on the walls. There was a baby crawling toward me with sharp teeth and a grin.

Screaming, I woke to find everyone staring at me. "He's awake," Caroline announced, shoving my head out of her lap and getting to her feet.

"What _happened_?" I moaned.

"You passed out when the lights went out," Tyler told me and I found him sitting beside me with a candle and then I heard Hayley scream.

"I don't want this. I _don't_ want this. Owwwww," Hayley screamed with Elijah sitting behind her back and Katherine was looking slightly sick as she sat at the other end.

"Are you sure you _know_ what you're doing?" Caroline demanded, staring at Katherine with a frown.

"I've watched all the episodes of E. R. and Grey's. Plus, I've been taking classes at Whitmore to earn extra credits before I go to college to earn a degree in medicine," Kat snapped back. "I think I can do something as _simple_ as help someone have a baby," then she became quiet. "Unless it's coming out breach," she said quietly.

"_What_?" Elijah and Hayley yelled at the same time as the girl collapsed against my brother and began to cry.

"Just calm down and _don't_ push," Katherine said, closing her eyes.

"Is _this_ going to kill her?" Caroline demanded and Kat turned to glare at her.

"Someone shut this one up, _please_?" Kat snapped and I grabbed a candy apple and stuck it in Caroline's mouth. She gave me a death glare as she took a bite.

"Okay, so I just need to turn the baby around," Kat said with a nod

"Oh. Ew," Alaric said and moved toward the kitchen.

"I am _never_ doing that," Jenna said, staring at Hayley and shaking her head, her face pale.

"Me _too_," Andie agreed as she began to eat a candied apple and tried to not concentrate on Hayley's whimpers.

"Me _three_," Rose added with her hands over her stomach.

"Matt, Tyler, Caroline," Kat called, "please, take the younger ones into the _other_ room." I stood motionless, wondering if there was anything that I could do. "_Klaus_," Kat called to me. "I need you to get me something big enough to put a baby in and fill it with water, and clean towels and a scissors." I hurried off to collect the items when Caroline came out of one of the bedrooms and wordlessly went to the linen closet. When I found a little tub like thing in the bathroom, I filled it with cold water and tried to pick it up. Finding that I couldn't, I turned to find Caroline watching me. She came inside and took one end while I took the other.

We carried the tub into the room where the heavily pregnant teen was mumbling incoherently to herself. "What's she saying?" I asked and Kat looked up.

"She's praying in French," Kat told me and then she looked down when Hayley screamed in pain. "I'm sorry! But I have to do it this way!"

"Just don't break anything," Elijah begged, looking pale.

"I've almost got her head in position," Kat said, her voice muffled by the blanket covering her head. "Got it! Okay, little momma. Push!"

Hayley screamed so loudly that my ears popped and Caroline grabbed my hand. Squeezing Caroline's hand, I watched as Hayley sobbed and Katherine kept yelling at her to "Push, damn it!"

"Okay, he's out!" Kat exclaimed as the baby let out a cry and Tyler poked his head into the room.

"Is it safe to come in?" Tyler asked as Kat placed the baby in the tub with a look of awe and a huge grin.

"Yes," I called and the rest of the group slowly re-entering the room as Kat wrapped my tiny nephew up in a blanket and got to her feet.

"Want to meet your son?" Kat asked the parents who looked relieved. Hayley took the baby and Elijah placed a hand to the child's forehead.

"Hi," Elijah said.

"What's his name?" Kol wanted to know as he came over to take a peek at the baby.

"And did you say that it's another _boy_?" Rebekah complained, coming over to look at the baby with a frown.

"His name is Aiden," Elijah pronounced. "Because only someone who was divine could have survived tonight."

"Hello, Aiden," Hayley cooed to the baby who was making little noises.

"That is _so_ cute. I think I'll gag," Stefan whispered to Jeremy. "I can't wait to tell Damon what a dorky name they gave the baby."

I rolled my eyes and then noticed that Caroline was still holding my hand as Elena went over to check out the baby. "He's kind of cute," Elena said with a sigh.

Jenna came to stand beside her niece and grinned. "Oh, look at the baby! Ric, come see this bit of cuteness."

"No thanks," Ric replied, holding up his flask. "I can do without that."

Andie and Rose began to go gaga over the newest member of the Mikaelson family as I stood aside with the belief that if I moved that Caroline would remember that she hated me.

"Do you want to hold the baby, Klaus?" Hayley asked me and I could only stare at the child.

"What if I drop him?" I asked as Caroline pulled me toward the mother and her son by the hand. "I mean I didn't even hold Henrik for at least a month after he was born." That was a lie but who cares.

"Just _take_ the baby," Caroline ordered me and I held out my arms.

"Put your hand here and your arm here," Elijah ordered me as I took his son and felt my heart break when Aiden yawned widely and then looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Hello," I said with a grin as Caroline took Aiden's tiny fist and kissed it gently. "Hello, Aiden Mikaelson. I'm your uncle. And these are my friends. Welcome to my club, sweetheart," I whispered to the baby who stared up at me like I was a space alien.

"Hi, baby boy," Caroline cooed as Aiden curled his fingers around one of Caroline's. "You are going to be so _loved_ and _spoiled_ by so _many_ people that you're not going to know what to do with yourself. And you know that you were born on Halloween so that means that you'll get cake and lots and lots of chocolate on your birthdays."

"And lots and lots of presents," I added. "Because you have a _ton_ of family."

"Yes, you _do_," Caroline agreed, smiling at me for once in what felt like a very long time as I handed the baby to my brother who had climbed off the couch. Caroline leaned into me and I felt happiness shoot through my body when she took my hand and intertwined our fingers.

"Does someone want to clean this stuff up?" Kat asked, wrinkling her nose up at the bloody blanket, tub and scissors. "Because that is like a _health_ _hazard_ and I _need_ to take a shower. Bon Bon, think you could do some of that witchy woo woo to make the bath warm because I feel _gross_ and I need to scrub my hands like a billion times. I mean ew. Why couldn't the baby have been _normal_? I can't believe that I just had my hands up -"

"Katherine," Elijah called and then looked at Bekah and Kol. "Can you please keep the descriptions to yourself until we are not in mixed company?"

Kat rolled her eyes. "Hey, it wasn't any of them who had to do the dirty work. And it wasn't you _either_ thing with the _penis_."

"She said _penis_," Kol said with a snort and a loud laugh while pointing at Kat who rolled her eyes.

"As I was saying. I saved the _baby_ and _that_," Kat pointed at Hayley. "Now, you could at least try a simple '_Thank_ you, _Katherine_.'"

"_Thank_ _you_, _Katherine_," Elijah replied with a smile before he handed the baby over to his mother.

"You're welcome," Kat said with a slight blush as she walked toward the bathroom.

"Is there _any_ candy?" Jeremy asked with pout as he looked around.

"Yes," Caroline said. "But it's _in_ the car."

"Can't someone get it?" Bekah asked with wide eyes directed at me.

I sighed and held out my hand to Kat who had come back into the room to find her bag which contained her costume. "Got to put something _on_," she said.

"Keys, please," I asked Kat who pulled her keys out and handed them to me. When I headed outside, I found that it wasn't raining anymore and that Caroline was following me.

"I guess we can go trick or treating after all," Caroline said, looking around.

"I guess so," I replied as I unlocked Kat's car and pulled a couple of bags of candy out from the back. "Caroline," I said slowly. "You can go with _any_ group if you want to."

Caroline's eyebrows shot upward. "I think that tonight I can go with _your_ group," she told me and I smiled as she took one of the bags and we headed back inside. Maybe she would forgive me sooner than later. Any way I looked at it, this was a Halloween night to remember.

**For answers to comments and questions hit the review box. **

**Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed, read and/or reviewed. **

**Answers to reviews: **

**Melissa: I completely understand. Of course I cannot promise that there will not be more fighting because this is Klaus and Caroline and they are going through the most annoying time of growing up, the dreaded pre-teens/teens. There are going to be a lot of complex issues that cause Klaus and Caroline to have to figure out who they there which will ultimately bring them back together. **

**Ferrylis: Writing about Klaus and Caroline having problems is probably one of the harder parts of writing this journey. There probably is someone that likes Klaus or maybe more than one person who likes him. The funny thing about liking someone as much as Klaus likes Caroline is that he doesn't really notice other girls. **

**Pretylittlewitch: Thank you so much. I sometimes forget how much I liked Anna and Lexi but writing about them in this story helps. **

**ScarletRose: No, I don't believe that Esther is quite the Esther that we're used to on TVD/TO. She's a much more "human" woman who is trying to deal with her own problems which is why she's not taking a firmer stance on the grandbaby front, she needs to take care of herself. I know that might seem selfish but, realistically speaking, anyone who is suffering from any sort of mental illness or physical illness is useless to those around them if they do not take care of themselves. (That's one thing I heard countless times when my mother was in the hospital, that I could not take care of her if I was not taking care of myself.) And at some point we will see Esther take on more of a role in Aiden's life. **

**Mikael was unaware of Hayley's past abuse because she did not try to get help and because Hayley did not make anyone else aware of the abuse that she was enduring. This brings me to dealing with why Katherine did not come forward about her rape. Okay, here's a huge misconception (thank you film, TV, etc.) there are a ton of women in this country who have been either sexually abused and/or raped who never see the satisfaction of seeing their rapist placed in jail. Because Katherine lives in such a small town it could work in her favor or against her depending on who the law enforcement officials are. Since she did not go to the hospital and have a "rape kit" done it would make that much harder for the prosecuting attorney to bring charges and with no suspects to talk to there is not much that they could do. Not to mention small towns mean small town gossip and since Katherine had already given herself a "reputation" this would be used against her not only by the defense attorney but by the court of public opinion. Whoever gave you the idea that women who have been assaulted in America are not humiliated, harassed and threatened with murder in extreme cases by the family, friends or even fans of someone who has been accused depending upon their status, needs a reality check. No work of fiction can work as the impetus for anyone to come forward about what they have been through. Each person has to make that decision based on their own personal circumstances because, as you pointed out, I have readers all over the world and not all of of them will ever have an opportunity to make their voices heard. **

**I have had some clue as to how that plotline will resolve itself and it will not involve Katherine ever having a "relationship" with her assailant. That's just wrong on too many levels to comprehend. **

**I will probably have to PM you some of my answers here because this is a very long review… **

**M: Thank you. Caroline will forgive Klaus at some point… when that will be I'm not sure because I have yet to get to that point. What I can say is that she will never be able to stop caring about him as much as she might sometimes wish that she could stop. As for Damon, he will be back in the next chapter for a visit… other than that, I am not giving anything away. **

**Tippy093: You would be right about the situation with Kat. The joys of living in a small town. (Shiver.) Damon will be back for the next chapter and there will be some mixed reactions accompanied with his return… Hmmm… not sure about the Klaus/Elena thing. I think there's someone else that he might lean on for support. Well, Klaus was Caroline's first kiss and I'm thinking that they will be each other's first in other ways sometime later in the next book or two… I will most definitely be heading in the magical angle at some point. Right now they're dealing with so many human problems that they haven't really had time to explore their supernatural talents but, with the return of Esther, she might use this as a bonding moment. I try to address reviews because it's fun to interact with the fans which is something I might not be able to do as much of when I get published. **

**ObsessWithElijah: Well, Elijah and Hayley are in the role of co-parenting Aiden and we also know that Kat and Elijah have a child plus there is Nadia. So, Kat's the step-mother of Aiden and Elijah will presumably be adopting Nadia. Thank you. I know that the idea of Hayley and Kat as friends is unusual but they are in this story. I think they do. I wish that I could answer your questions in a definite matter but I haven't arrived at that point in the story yet. There will be werewolves. Hayley for sure will be turning, possibly sometime before the end of this story. I miss Damon, too, but he'll be coming back sooner than later. I meant that Kat and Elijah had oral sex which some people do not count as sex because you can't get pregnant but you can get STDs so any type of sexual activity should be counted. **

**Guest: They probably will have a painful experience at some point. It depends on the character because what hurts one person is not that big a deal to another. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	5. Chapter 5

**Quick Side Note: If anyone would like to volunteer to make a cover for this fic and/or any of my other works then feel free to drop a review/PM me or send a message through my Tumblr account under queenofthedramedies. If I get more than one offer then I will rotate through the different covers with a special thanks to the maker/s. **

**Hello, my lovely readers. This is the first chapter that we're actually going to see Damon and it's a bit on the dramatic side. On with the show…**

Chapter 5: Letters to Damon

Sitting down on my bed, I stared at the ceiling. Life in my house seemed to be insane. There never seemed to be a dull moment with Kol and Bekah arguing about who had made the bigger mess out of their room. Henrik found this to be the right time to become a regular three-year old and scream for everyone's attention and Elijah being exhausted all the time. With Hayley bringing Baby Aiden in and out of the house, no one could remember what it was like to not hear the wailing of a small child.

This was the first day that no one was screaming and it was part of the Christmas break. I had heard that Damon had come home but I did not have the courage to go and visit him. Nor did I hear my doorbell being rung by him or any member of my club. Groaning, I got to my feet and pulled out my box that I had been collecting letters in that I would have sent to him if I weren't a coward. Pulling the box open, I counted fifty letters in all. Shaking my head, I grabbed a notebook and a pen.

Damon,

I hear that you're home. You haven't come to see me. I understand. I'm sure that Caroline must have told you that I'm the reason that you haven't been brought home. That would be Caroline to a tee. She has that wonderful quality of being unable to keep a secret. She's not like you and me; we would be able to keep a secret to our graves. Don't you think?

In case no one has told you, which I'm sure they did, I'm an uncle. It seems strange to say those words to anyone since I'm not an adult. Luckily for you, unless Stefan does anything truly odd, you won't be able to say the same until you're at least twenty. You know I think that Stefan is madly in love with my Bekah. Sounds funny, don't you think? I suppose that means that one day we really will be family. Can you imagine what hell that Bekah will put him through? I laugh at the thought.

Alaric, as I'm sure you already knows misses you almost as much as I and Caroline do. He's becoming sharp tongued like you and me. Makes a lovely mate, but not as lovely as you. Damn. I probably sound like I'm writing to a girl. Or as a girl, as you would say. Doesn't bother me at any rate. I know a few rather strong girls, Caroline, Elena, Bonnie, and, of course, my beloved sister, Bekah. If you ever show this letter to her I will make you eat it.

I wish that I could have just given up my fear and allowed Anna to compel your father to bring you home. It's killing me that I sent the one true friend I have in this world, besides Caroline, out of my life. You would probably tell me to go to hell if you were standing right here, right now, because I remember what it was like to be stuck in that place.

How are Marcel and Enzo? I'm sure that the three of you are making the teachers' lives a misery. I hope that Marcel finally found a girl that doesn't disappoint him like the last one. And then there is Enzo. Oh, crazy Enzo. What would we do with him if he were to ever move to Mystic Falls? I'm sure that Sheriff Forbes would have an aneurism if she had to deal with him. But he was a great prankster.

I have to admit that I sit down at lunch in the middle school and I have to stop myself from telling other children they can't sit beside me because that's your seat. It's too strange to walk into a class room and to not see you waiting for me. I walked down the hall the first day of classes and saw a boy that I thought was you and I had to stop myself from trying to hug him.

Nik

Folding the letter, I slipped it in with the others and laid on my back and stared at the ceiling. After some time I went into Kol's room to find him sitting on the floor playing a video game with Jeremy. "I'm going to beat you're ass, Gilbert," Kol exclaimed and then cheered when Jeremy's little man's exploded.

"What are you playing?" I asked.

"War of the Zombies," Kol said absently.

"I want a _rematch_," Jeremy snapped as he glared at the screen of the small TV.

"I'm going to beat you _again_," Kol declared and I left the room.

Going into the living room, I found Bekah sitting with Bonnie. They were going over a spell and then waving their hands while speaking in Latin. The Christmas lights would change color every time they spoke and I decided to not ask. Making my way down to the basement, I found Elijah sound asleep on his pull-out couch. Mother was pulling laundry out of the dryer and I came to stand beside her. "May I go out?" I asked as Mother folded the laundry.

"Yes, but don't stay out past dark and do make sure that you stop at one of your friend's houses and call me when you get there," Mother said as she folded Elijah's uniform while he snored.

"Yes, Mother," I replied before heading upstairs. Grabbing my coat off the rack, I headed out the door. Walking down the street, I made a clear path toward a certain house as it started to snow. My feet were beginning to make tracks once I arrived at the front door and knocked quietly.

Miranda Gilbert opened it and smiled down at me. "Hello, Klaus, which one of my children are you looking for?"

"I was looking for Elena," I told her.

"Oh, she went ice skating with Matt Donavon," Miranda told me. "But Kat's here if you'd like to come in and say hello."

I shook my head. "No, thank you. I'm sure that Kat is probably busy making plans for a party," I said with a chuckle and then I hurried off before the woman could reply. Elena was with Matt. Perhaps Damon had gone home already. Walking toward Caroline's house, I paused on the porch because things were still strained between Caroline and me.

Lifting my fist, I knocked on the door to be greeted by Jenna. "Hey, Klaus," she said perkily.

"Hi, Jenna," I replied, feeling curious about why she was there.

"I was looking for Caroline. Is she home?" I inquired and Jenna shook her head.

"No, you just missed her. Hayley took her somewhere. I was going to ask where, but Hayley said it was a secret. But I guess she has a date with some boy from our school. Can't remember what his name was," Jenna shook her head. "Anyway, I'm babysitting Aiden. Want to come in and see him? He's growing _so_ quickly."

"Caroline has a _date_?" I asked, feeling like someone had punched me in the gut.

"No, silly, _Hayley_ has a date. She's dropping Caroline off at a friend's or something. I think. Like I said it's all top secret and stuff," Jenna said with a laugh and I sighed.

"Oh," this was all that I could think of to say as I stood on the porch, feeling my feet beginning to absorb the cold. "Thanks," I told her before turning and walking away. I trudged down the block and then headed in another direction. It was another long walk but I was used to it. Moving up the driveway, I sucked in frosty air and then puffed it back out as I came to stand on the front porch. Lifting my hand to knock on the front door, I sighed and starred at the thick wood.

Going around the side of the building, I found the ladder and climbed up. There was no one in the room so I pulled the window open and climbed through. Entering the room, I stepped slowly through it and then eased the door open. Walking down the hall, I spotted Stefan, Tyler and Matt talking about something. Passing the door unseen, I headed down the stairs and began to walk down the hallway. When I was about to walk past the kitchen, I stopped at the sound of familiar voices.

Peering inside, I found that Damon was standing by the counter. Alaric was sitting on a stool and Caroline came into view and sat a cup next to Damon's elbow. My eyebrows scrunched together when I noticed that Damon had brought Marcel and Enzo with him. "Looking forward to Christmas?" Enzo inquired with a smirk at Damon.

"Not really. It's the _one_ time of year that my dad and I have to pretend that we don't hate each other for _Stefan's_ sake. I wish he'd just get married and have _more_ kids. Then maybe he would forget that I exist and I could just live my life," Damon murmured so low that I barely heard him.

"At least you _have_ a family," Enzo said and Marcel held up his mug.

"To the _newly_ orphaned society," Marcel said with a forced smile at his own joke.

"Or _not_ so newly," Enzo said drily.

"To having _more_ family since my sis had a baby," Caroline said. "Oh, I've got pictures," she pulled out a camera and the group gathered closer to look at the photos.

"Cute kid," Marcel remarked. "Let's hope that he doesn't inherit Elijah's sense of humor."

"Or _lack_ thereof," Damon said and they laughed. Taking the camera, he held it up and took a picture of himself. Then he wrapped an arm around Caroline and they grinned at the camera. Leaning over the counter, Damon took another picture with Alaric and Marcel and then one with Enzo. "Okay, group pic," he called. "To the Salem Dare Club," he announced and I felt my stomach tighten.

"To the founder," Enzo said, clapping Damon on the back.

"To not letting backstabbing, ex-_friends_ attend our parties," Caroline said before she gave Damon a meaningful look and they clinked glasses. "And to the next year being _better_ than this year."

"To Maggie," Enzo said quietly and my head snapped up as I looked up to see him wiping away tears.

"What _happened_ to Maggie?" Caroline asked with a look of concern.

"Oh, it's just the same old story. Went swimming this summer and did not come out," Enzo said. "That's why I say _don't_ go swimming in the ocean. Bloody under toad."

"Oh, my God. Enzo," Caroline cried out and came around the counter to hug him.

"Well, aren't I bringing the holiday _joy_," Enzo exclaimed with a forced laugh. "Sorry, mates, just something that I need to get off my chest. Hurts a _bit_ right now." Caroline placed her head on his shoulder as Alaric patted him on the other shoulder. "_Holidays_. They bring you down at times. But, hey, I've got good people that I'm spending them with, so all is not lost, right?"

"_Right_," Caroline said. "We can go out and find something festive to do, like caroling."

"I _hate_ carolers," Damon said as Caroline walked over to him and grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt.

"Pretty _please_. For _me_," she asked and I felt my body tense as she leaned forward and touched her nose to Damon's as he relented.

"_Fine_. _Whatever_. As always you get what you want. You're lucky I like you so much," Damon said as he threw an arm around her shoulders and Caroline let out a high pitched giggle. "Who are we going to _torture_ with our inability to carry a tune anyway?"

"I _can_ sing," Caroline protested as she slapped his chest and I felt like yelling at them but I kept my mouth tightly shut while my heart broke.

"I know you can sing like a _bird_," Damon said, sliding his fingers under her chin and grinning down at her. "But _not_ all of us are so lucky as to be blessed with wonderful pipes like you."

"Well, then you can be my backup. And I thought we could start with Ty's house, since he's not home and it will drive his creepy father crazy," Caroline announced.

"Isn't his creepy father the _mayor_ of the town?" Marcel inquired with a grin.

"_Duh_," Caroline replied with a grin. "And my _mom's_ the _sheriff_. So, there's no way that he can have us arrested for _harmless_ caroling."

"I'm in," Enzo said with a broad grin as he grabbed his jacket.

"Me too," Alaric said as he pulled his coat on.

"Me three. I guess," Marcel said as he downed the rest of his drink and they moved toward the exit. I quickly disappeared down the hall and around a corner. I did not want them to see me as they passed by my hiding spot. If anyone had looked down they might have noticed that drapes don't usually have feet. I waited until they were gone and then I exited the house.

Following them down the snowy laden sidewalks, I made sure to stay far enough behind with a hood over my head so that they would not recognize me. Yes, that is what it came to. I was stalking my friends and my heart squeezed painfully as Caroline took Damon's hand and they dared the other three to race them. I continued to walk at my slower rate behind them. Standing off to the side, I watched as they began to sing loudly like they were inside some blasted Dr. Seuss book. The worst part was when Damon wrapped his arms around Caroline's waist and she leaned against him as they sang "It's Going to be a White Christmas." I began to think of ways to hurt one or both of them as my heart began to break into bitter pieces. Instead of revealing myself to them, I followed them like some mad man from one of those B rate thrillers that Kat liked to watch and then scream during the murder scenes.

Watching Caroline and my former group singing in front of the fifth house, I could handle it no more when I trudged back to my own house. Entering my home, I slammed the door and did not look up when Bekah asked me what was wrong. Storming back to my room, I pulled out my box of letters to Damon and then reached for my sketch pad with numerous drawings of Caroline. Looking through my room, I found anything that reminded me of Damon or Caroline and I gathered it all up.

Exiting my room, I strode to the kitchen and grabbed a waste sack as Elijah came upstairs looking tired. "Hello, Klaus," he greeted me and I grunted before walking into my room. Placing all of the things into the bag, I carried it out to garbage. Then I had a better thought. Walking back inside the house, I separated the things according to which friend they reminded me of. Then I placed all of Caroline's things in one bag and Damon's in the other. Grabbing my notepad, I jotted down one line per piece of paper. Each note was identical. "Enjoy your lives together," they read.

Walking back out of my room, I found Elijah. "Could you give me a ride to Caroline's?" I asked Elijah who looked up from the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he was eating.

"Yes," Elijah said and grabbed his coat. He looked surprised when I disappeared and reappeared with the two bags. He took one of them. "I'm going to assume that there will be a second stop," he said and I nodded wordlessly as he read the note on the bag but did not question me.

We stopped at Caroline's first and I ordered Elijah to leave the motor running. "We won't be here for long," I told my brother who nodded.

"Alright," Elijah muttered as I slipped out of the car and carried Caroline's bag to the door. Ringing the doorbell, I did not bother to wait for Jenna to answer. Or, for all I knew, Caroline had returned. I did not want to look at her at that moment.

Elijah stopped in front of Damon's house after I told him that that was our next stop. Getting out, I walked toward the front porch and dropped the bag heavily before ringing the doorbell. Walking away, I noticed Damon, Caroline and the others heading up the walk. Standing for a second longer than I had meant to, I found myself making eye contact with Damon. Looking away from him I saw Caroline staring at me with shock in her eyes. Getting in the car, I told Elijah to go.

As my brother backed up, being careful to avoid running any of my former friends over with his car, I saw that Damon was staring at me with his arms folded over his chest. Caroline was wiping her cheeks and the others did not seem to know what to think. Turning my head, I looked down the darkened street and contemplated my life without the Dare Club. Frankly, these people had been so much a part of my life that I had no idea what it would look like without them.

When we arrived home, Mother tried to stop me from closing the door in her face, but I was too quick. "Niklaus," she called, knocking on the door. "Niklaus, come out _here_ and tell me what happened. Jenna Sommers called me and told me that you left a very odd gift on Caroline's door. Niklaus! The phone won't stop ringing. Niklaus, come out of there _right_ _now_ or you will be grounded until you are _grey_. Klaus, come _out_. Please! Son! Oh, darling, _Damon_ is on the phone. And _Caroline_. They both want to talk to you. Do you _hear_ me, Niklaus?"

Picking up one of my pillows, I placed it over my head as my mother continued to knock on the door until Elijah was able to talk her into leaving me alone. As I was beginning to drift off to sleep, I heard more knocking on my door. I wondered if my Mother would ever give up when I heard Damon's voice.

"Nik, can I come in? I read your letter. Let me in, Nik," I heard the doorknob rattle. "Nik, it's not like that. I mean… I don't know what it's like. Just come out and talk to me. I thought we were mates and all that," he called, still tapping at the door.

Sitting up, I stared at the closed door with the desire to rip it open and punch Damon. "I didn't… Nik. Look, you're my _best_ friend. I would _never_ intentionally go after Caroline. _Please,_ talk to me. Don't shut me out. NIK," Damon called and I glared at my balled fists as I heard Damon's voice beginning to tremble. "Nik, I _need_ you. You're my _brother_. No matter what. Girls come and go, but you and me, we're _more_ than stupid crushes."

Getting up on shaky legs, I strode over to the door and pulled it open to stare into Damon's eyes. "You are _dead_ to me," I snarled and then I slammed the door in his face. After a few minutes, I heard his retreating footsteps and I walked over to my bed and sat down. Curling up in a ball, I began to cry as if Damon really had died, because to me he had.

**Hit the review box with comments/questions** **and thank you to everyone who has faved, followed read and/or reviewed this story. **

**Answers to reviews: **

** : I know and we will see more of Damon from this point on because I love to write about him. **

**EmeraldEyedCat: It is a bit of a mystery about why it is that Damon has yet to come back from the school but Stefan has. There is a possibility of JerBekah in the future since Marcel is a bit old for Rebekah and I can't make it too easy on Stef; he has to earn her love. **

**I think of little Klaus as being played by JoMo as a kid, of course that is literally impossible but this is fiction so the "real world rules do not apply." **

**Kat is Kat and when she makes up her mind… Wait until Caroline is a teen. **

**I loved that part, I mean what is a baby going to do in a dare club? There was part of me that wanted to bring Damon back from the beginning but I have to let the plots play out. **

**Silas will be arriving shortly, I'm thinking in either chapter seven or eight. **

**Kat has a lot on her mind besides romance with anyone right now but then again so does Elijah. Speaking of which, the Elijah/Rose thing was a dream; now whether there are feelings there is anyone's question… I don't think there will be a Rose/Damon pairing although I was fond of them. No Datherine, at least not in this story. **

**That was a little mistake. I originally wrote that Davina was going to be Elijah's and Hayley's child and then realized that it would make more sense for the child to be Aiden. But Davina will appear somewhere before the end of this story and so will Josh. Baby Aiden will probably be meeting baby Josh somewhere between chapter 10 and chapter 30. Sorry, I can't be more specific. **

**Yeah, TV is probably not the best source of information unless you count some news stories depending on a lot of factors. **

**Melissa: Thank you. I'm really fond of the character of Aiden on TO so I wanted to find a way to work him into the story and since there was going to be a baby that seemed like the perfect time. **

**There will definitely be more cute Klaroline moments but it might take a little bit of time to get there. **

**I know and Kat and Elijah have some more obstacles to get through before they can find each other. **

**M: Thank you. You're welcome. Yes, there are probably another thousand twists in this story. It was really important for Kat to help Hayley because it's a turning point for her character in which she's finally found a new goal which we find out more about later in the story.**

**ObsessWithElijah: Thank you. It was fun to write a Halloween episode that gave me goosebumps and I'm the writer. **** Yes, I always wanted to see something with Klaus trying to deal with his warlock side and try to see the extent of his powers. There is a story in which Klaus was a witch called "It's Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus", by Evil Sprinkle, that story is amazingly funny. **

**Heather: Thank you! I have tried to incorporate elements of the canon traits with a "what would they be like if they had different upbringings" which makes it fun to explore the possibilities. **

**Tippy093: Thank you. I kind of loved what they were doing with Kol at the beginning of the current season of TO when Kol was being all mischievous when he could use magic. Klaus was dreaming that Klaus was making out with Rose but you never know what can happen in this work when I have yet to finish chapter six. Nope, it won't be Kat. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


End file.
